Islanders Sign Knowles to National Letter of Intent

May 16, 2012

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi men's basketball team has signed Zane Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas/Pearl River CC) to a National Letter of Intent, Head Coach Willis Wilson announced today. Knowles will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at the Island University for the 2012-13 season.

"Zane is a physical big man that will help add depth to our front line," Wilson said. "He will help our low post game from day one and his physical presence should help open things up for the rest of our team. He will also improve physically once he arrives, and we think he can become an impact player for the Islanders."

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound center averaged 12.6 points and 8.4 rebounds under Richard Mathis at Pearl River (Miss.) last year, as he shot 61 percent from the field. He also tallied 37 blocks in 27 games, and added 11 steals on the defensive end. He posted nine double-doubles on the year and 10 games with double-digit rebounds, helping PRCC to a 15-12 record.

Knowles tallied a season-high 16 rebounds against Mississippi Delta CC on Jan. 12, and his finest game came against Hinds CC, when he scored 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting and also snared 11 boards. He also had a standout game with 23 points against Copiah-Lincoln CC on Feb. 6.

The native Bahamian spent his freshman year at Grambling, where he played sparingly due to injury, appearing in 15 games and averaging 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per contest. He attended high school at Champagnat Catholic School in Miami, where he was named a South Florida All-Star and earned a spot in the Miami Dade/Broward County All-Star Game.

Knowles is the fifth signee for the Islanders for the 2012-13 season, joining high schoolers Jelani Currie (Albany, N.Y.) and Brandon Pye (Mansfield, Texas) along with junior college players William Nelson (Baton Rouge, La.) and Joy Williamson (Oklahoma City, Okla.).